Things I Wore (and Did) in July 2017

One of my favorite parts about looking back on the month’s outfits is that it gives me a good sense of all of the things I’ve done recently.

I sometimes find myself feeling like I don’t “do” anything, like I spend far too much time on Twitter retweeting jokes or on the couch rewatching “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

But Bill and I have some pretty awesome adventures, which can be easy to forget when I’m lazing about the house. This is such a nice way for me to be reminded of all of the little and big moments I have with him and that I have with myself.

July 2017 was a big month for me. I wrapped up my time working at a job I mostly enjoyed, and that was tough. I had to say goodbye to colleagues I really cared about and respected and friends I admired and loved. I said goodbye to a 10-minute commute and super short work days. I said goodbye to my first-ever office. I said goodbye to the job that helped my husband and I realize that western Massachusetts was the right place for the two of us to settle down. But I needed to go. So I left because I was treated very, very unfairly by my boss and I knew I deserved better, and because the light on my future there was slowly dimming. It was not an easy decision.

And I started a new job, one I was very excited about, a brand new role as Diversity Communications Manager that would combine my love for communications and writing with my passion for social justice. It’s the first job where I can be my whole self, where I won’t have to shield parts of me. I can bring the social justice knowledge I seek outside of work into my actual job. It feels liberating. I’ll admit it was scary—absolutely terrifying—to make the leap from a job where I felt comfortable to a job that would make me begin anew. But sometimes the scary thing is absolutely the right thing to do, even if it’s hard. My first three weeks have been incredible; they’ve pushed me to exercise skills I haven’t used in years and I feel like I’m really valued and heard and respected. I’m so happy I made the leap, and I hope it only gets better from here.

As for the rest of July, I took some trips to the beach. I found myself enthralled by poetry. I read a bunch. I spent time outside in the sun. Bill and I went to a drag show, we traveled to the Berkshires, we were inspired by art, we explored western Mass a little.

All in all, life is good.

And here’s what I wore.

My last day of work. Sadly, this also means it’s the last photo EVER with that polka-dotted wall. I shall miss it!

Outfit details

Dress: Marshall’s

Shoes: DSW

Necklace: Target

NEW GLASSES: Zenni Optical

I feel so beautiful in this dress. It reminds me of the flamenco dancers we saw when we were in Barcelona. (I literally cannot believe that I got to type that sentence. Who even am I?)

Despite feeling beautiful in this dress, it’s not exactly practical. But what better event to wear it to than a drag show?

Outfit details

Dress: Marshall’s

Shoes: Target

First day on the new job! I had been stressing about what to wear. I wanted something professional, but not too formal… and I also wanted something that wouldn’t make me too hot. It is the dead of summer, after all. I settled on this beautiful dress, WHICH HAS POCKETS! And shoutout to my first selfie at my new job.